Gallery walls can admittedly be kind of tricky. It’s not rocket science, and yet this one simple design element can feel very intimidating. I’ve known people that have put off hanging a gallery wall in their home for years. They’ve collected lots of pieces. They even have the frames. Yet instead of hanging them on the wall, their framed collection of art and photographs sits leaned up against the wall for fear of not hanging the frames in the “right” way.
So let me demystify this for you. There is no one “right” way. Sure there are some helpful guidelines. And I’ll get to that in a bit. But first, I want you to throw out the fear that’s holding you back. Throw out the idea that you’re not doing it in the supposed right way. Because it’s that mindset that is keeping you from taking your framed collection from leaning against the wall to hanging on the wall.
You’ve got this. You totally do. Trust me. At the end of the day what’s the worst thing that can happen? You put a bunch of nail holes in the wall and have to patch them? Big deal. That’s why spackle exists. 😉
Here are 5 guidelines to help you get started!
1. Your collection needs a leader.
Some decorators call this an anchor. But whatever you call this piece doesn’t really matter. The point is every great gallery wall has at least one large scale piece that grounds, anchors or leads the rest of the collection. When you have a collection of pieces that are all the same basic size or that are all on the small side, the collection can feel a little chaotic or frenzied. You need at least one strong, large piece to hold all the smaller pieces together. You can have more than one large piece, but at the very least, have one.
2. Don’t start in the center.
Your leader or anchor piece is the piece you should hang first. But just because she’s your fearless leader doesn’t mean you should hang her in the middle. Your best bet is to hang her off-center. The goal with a gallery wall is to create one cohesive statement out of a lot of pieces. You don’t want your fearless leader to take center stage. Every piece deserves a chance to shine. You’ll want to keep the eye moving throughout your gallery wall.
3. Vary sizes and orientation.
While you do want at least one large piece to anchor your collection, smaller pieces are really great to fill in and keep things interesting. In that same vein you’ll want horizontal, vertical and even square or circular pieces to create movement and balance.
4. Keep your spacing kind of even.
Spacing is the thing that sends people into a tizzy. And y’all let me just say, it’s not that big of a deal. I guess you can get all type A and bust out a measuring tape to ensure that every piece is spaced perfectly even. But I think that’s an ultimate waste of time. Yes, I just said that. Lay out your pieces on the floor to get a good idea of what you want. Then as you start putting pieces on the wall try to keep every piece spaced similarly. Basically, you don’t want any pieces to feel like they’re too far away or out there sort of floating in space, and you don’t want any pieces to feel too crammed together. But you also don’t need to stress about inches. Just eye ball it, and call it good. I’m sure there’s a designer out there rolling her eyes right now, but I’m like, who has time for getting crazy with a measuring tape? Not me. *Three inches is a good ballpark space to keep in mind. But don’t stress.
5. You’re better off hanging it too low than too high.
If there’s a “mistake” to be made, it’s in hanging pieces too high. This isn’t just true in gallery walls but with art in general in a home. Often designers talk about hanging things at eye level, which is a good rule of thumb to keep in mind. But eye level is different for everyone, so this rule can seem rather pointless. My husband is 6’2″, and I’m 5’3″. In speaking about gallery walls, you need to treat the entire collection as one piece. If you’re hanging one above a sofa you’ll want no more than about 6 to 8 inches between the top of your sofa and the bottom of your gallery wall. You’re better off going too low than too high.
So there you have it! Five super simple guidelines to keep in mind when you’re hanging a gallery wall. The process is supposed to be fun not stressful!
Want to hear my tips for mixing different styles and colors of frames in a gallery wall? Head on over to GuruHub.tv to check out my latest episode of the Design Mixology series. I’m answering a reader question about this very subject!
